Friday Action Item: Science

Now that we’ve posted a few of these Action Items, I want to step back and add an important caveat to this idea of small things to do in the wake of a devastating political reversal. These posts are intended to highlight things we think our readers may not already be doing — and we definitely want everyone to do all the things. It’s important to remember, though, that those of us who work in science, education, and science communication have already committed our daily lives to opposing the incoming administration.

Defend an institution. Follow the courts or the media, or a court or a newspaper. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you are making them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions don’t protect themselves. They go down like dominoes unless each is defended from the beginning.

If you’re a scientist or a science educator, you’re already part of an institution that needs defending — maybe a university campus, a whole field of inquiry, or a single classroom. Continuing to do and teach science in the coming years will be, in itself, an act of resistance.